Meant to Be
by battlevalkyrie
Summary: C/7 Seven and Chakotay's relationship. I've decided to take this one a lot further than I'd originally planned... ;
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or it's characters.

Note: This is a very short intro to what will hopefully turn out to be a string of fan fiction. It is my first fanfic ever and I apologize in advance for any huge blunders. Lol Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Thanks! :) -Morrigan Wildwood

"Harry, you have the bridge" he said with a knowing smile as he saw the Ensign beam in response. "Yes sir" he replied sounding eager and proud that he was beginning to get more recognition from his superiors. Chakotay knew that Harry deserved to be honored with the rank of Lieutenant, but Kathryn liked to do things "by the book", and in her eyes there were no more positions open to him. He pondered this, and as usual couldn't find a way around her thinking that she would find reasonable. Then his mind wandered to her. The timid look she had given him in the cargo bay, the way the look of uncertainty had shown through on her beautiful face as he'd spoken to her. He had been fond of her since the mission to retrieve Lieutenant Kelley's module when they had shared a little about their pasts with each other, he remembered how sweet he had found it that she had wanted to be a ballerina. The fact that she had shared that with him had made him feel honored because she didn't often open up to anyone. The night she had come to him asking about his views of the afterlife when she had almost died because of her cortical node had made him realize just how much he cared for her and that she was more in touch with her humanity than even she seemed to comprehend had convinced him that he shouldn't be so reserved around her, that perhaps he form a closer relationship with her. He had always known she was beautiful and that he was attracted to her, but he also knew that she had led a very traumatic life and that it would take her a long time to get back in touch with herself and her humanity. If he were to be honest with himself a part of him had known for quite some time that he should try to form a closer friendship with her, even though he understood now that he wanted more than friendship with the fragile young woman. As he walked to Astrometrics he pondered what exactly he would say, and a small part of him feared that if he asked her to go on a date with him that she might be frightened off and refuse him, but the possibility that she might say yes made it well worth the risk.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager, nor it's characters. Hope this one's okay. :)

As he approached the doors to Astrometrics he felt a small nervous sigh escape his lips. He hesitated for a moment, trying to make sure he appeared more relaxed than he actually felt. He took a deep breath and walked into the room. Her back was turned to him and she was absorbed in her work as usual but when he took a few steps towards her she turned around a bit startled. Her eyes met his and for a brief moment it looked like her face flushed slightly when she saw him. He grinned at her reaction a little more than he'd meant to, but it caught him off guard that she would blush. He'd never seen her actually blush before and suddenly he wondered if it was the first time she had ever done it. Seven looked at him curiously with an eyebrow now raised, "Is there something I can do for you Commander?" she asked somewhat sheepishly. Her words had shaken him out of his musings and made him realize that he'd just been standing there staring at her for several seconds without saying anything. This made him even more nervous and he knew he had to say something quickly, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "Come to the holodeck with me, 1800 hours,.. that is if you don't mind" he added hastily not wanted to make it sound like an order but a request. On her face was a look he hadn't seen from her very often, she was taken aback by his words. "I.. do not understand, is there a problem with the holo imagers?" she seemed hesitant and uncertain of the situation. He gave her a small smile, "No, nothing like that, .. I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all" he hoped he wasn't making her uncomfortable, the last thing he wanted was to make her uneasy around him. He was shocked when she actually smiled at him, it was the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "Alright, I'll be there." she said sounding if he wasn't getting to far ahead of himself, a bit excited. "Then it's a date." he said without thinking still in awe that she smiled at him for the first time. He quickly realized what he'd said and looked at her to see her reaction. She was blushing again and was smiling at him as she nodded. "It's a date." He grinned from ear to ear as he walked back to the bridge for the rest of his duty shift. He couldn't believe in just a few hours he be meeting Seven on the holodeck for their first date.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager, nor it's characters.

After what seemed like only a moment but had actually been a few minutes for the hansom first officer of Voyager whose mind was still reveling in his experience with Seven in the cargo bay, he reached his destination, the bridge. The haze was over and it was back to business. Harry was sitting in the "big chair", as Tom liked to call it, and as usual had a small look of disappointment on his face when Chakotay walked onto the bridge.

"Commander," Harry nodded. "Good to have you back." he smiled politely as he promptly got out of the Captain's chair. "She's all yours" he walked back to his post.

Chakotay couldn't help but smile at the young Ensign's mannerisms, he knew how Harry liked the feeling of being in charge of the bridge and he didn't blame him. Harry was a fine officer and if they ever made it back to Earth he'd surely be promoted as soon as they read his file.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Chakotay asked trying to sound more interested than he felt as he sat down in his chair. "No sir, not unless you count Tom's fight with the Doc over the comm" he said with a small chuckle.

Tom whipped around defensively, "Hey, he was asking for it!" Tom looked at Chakotay, "he said he wanted me to go and clean his instruments for him and that my piloting the ship wasn't as important because "anyone could do that Mr. Paris"." Tom rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see him pilot the ship." he said sounding exasperated.

Chakotay laughed and shook his head, "Well, you know how the Doctor is, if it's not about him it isn't that important." Just as they were sharing in their mutual annoyance of how pompous the Doctor could be the Captain stormed onto the bridge in an obviously foul mood and they all looked to her as silence filled the room. The Captain looked at all of them seriously "Gentlemen we have a problem here." Her demeanor changed slightly as she was calming down a little.

Chakotay tilted his head slightly, "What's going on?" he asked sounding a bit worried. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she often did when she was stressed out. "Our food supplies are low again and Neelix doesn't know when we'll reach a planet that has more so I want you to run more scans immediately. If I eat one more thing with leola root in it I might go insane." She shook her head in disgust.

Everyone chuckled and Harry chimed in, "Uh oh, what'd he put it in this time?" he asked knowingly. The bridge was all smiles as the Captain replied with a pained expression on her face, "Pizza" Tom gagged immediately and they all look at her in mutual disbelieving disgust. "Is he _trying_ to make us all go to sick bay?" Tom asked with a humorously sickened look on his face. They all laughed.

"Well the important thing is to get something else for him to cook with!" The Captain said urgently. The mood was lighter on the bridge now, though a little desperate at the same time. No one wanted to eat leola root pizza!

As they sat down the Captain turned to Chakotay with a small smile, "How's your day been? Better than mine I hope!" she grinned with a laugh. He smiled, "Well it isn't hard to beat what you've been through" he said as he smiled in a matter of fact tone and gave a small nod. He gave a small sigh. He'd hoped to avoid the topic of his day knowing that he didn't want anyone knowing about his date with Seven, especially Kathryn.

He knew that Kathryn and Seven had a special bond at times it seemed almost like a mother-daughter sort of relationship between trusted Chakotay, that he knew, they had been through a lot together and were very close friends. For a brief moment he had considered the possiblity of a relationship with her, but he had soon realized they just weren't compatible in that way. It bothered him when he thought about it how in recent years she consulted him less and less when it came to major decisions concerning the ship.

Sometimes he felt like he was just the officer of crew reports and duty rousters. He knew in an case that she and Seven were close and that Kathryn felt protective of her and that made him nervous for her reaction if and when the time came.

A few uneventful hours later the time was quickly approaching and he felt both excited and nervous as he walked into the turbo lift. He had some tweaking to do...


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek nor its characters.

Note: Sorry it's been so long and that this chapter isn't longer. Please review anyway. Thanks. :)

As she stood in Astrometrics time was passing at an alarming rate. Or so it seemed to Seven who was nearing the time she had agreed to meet Chakotay on the holodeck.

Why had she agreed to this? She knew full well that she had feelings for him and that she had been to prideful to have the Doctor remove her fail safe device. Had it really been pride that kept her from having the procedure? Or was it something she didn't care to admit to herself, fear?

Fear of not fully being in control of her emotions, afraid to be completely human.

What if she showed her feelings for him outwardly if the fail safe were removed, what if she couldn't keep her composure when he was around her? Another fear lingered in the back of her mind,... _what if the Doctor can never remove all of my implants and no one will ever see me as fully human, not even myself..._ She often ran holodeck simulations where she could mask her implants and pretend she didn't have them.

This was a very important aspect of humanity for her, she often felt like her implants separated her from looking like the others. They served as a constant reminder of the awful things she had done to others and when she looked in a mirror she felt guilt and shame over what she had done.

So many lives were lost because of her, how could Chakotay have feelings for her? Didn't he realize she wasn't worthy of his affections? As she pondered the thoughts running through her mind she realized there was only an hour before the time when she was to be at the holodeck. She took a deep breath and went to the cargo bay.

He was nervous, would she like the program he'd replicated? He had put a lot of thought into it and hoped it would be something she would enjoy. It was a beautiful replica of a waterfall with mountains surrounding the forest below.

A large sphere was in the middle of the scene glowing and radiant. He knew she would recognize it immediately when she saw it and he hoped she would be pleased. He felt anxious and a little afraid now at his choices, would she really like them? He couldn't be sure, but it was too late to rethink his plans. He generally didn't second guess himself, but when it came to Seven,... He hadn't had any luck with women in the past.

He hadn't dated much in his younger years and then he'd met Seska, he still felt like a fool when he thought back on his time with the Maquis, he had really believe Seska loved him and that she was honest and good. He didn't like it when someone got the better of him, especially when that someone had gotten him to fall for her. He sighed, he really was developing strong feelings for Seven, was it a mistake? He shook his head at the thought, _No, Seven isn't anything like Seska, and to think I once didn't think she would be a good crew member or human being for that matter... _

Why had he been so distrustful of her even though she had never really given him reason to? Had he been afraid because she was an outsider like Seska had been at first? Or was it because of the drones he had encountered long before Seven had joined the crew? They had used him against his will and a woman had been in charge of the "cooperative" as they put it. Whatever the reason was, he felt regret that it had kept him at a distance from Seven for so long.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager nor it's characters.

Note: Enjoy! Hope you like and please review! I love hearing whether you guys liked it or not! :)

She thought of dressing up for their "date" but then decided against it. What if the Commander had not meant that it was a romantic date but it was merely what Lieutenant Paris would refer to as a "figure of speech"? Maybe this was one of his many attempts at "socializing" her with the crew, perhaps he had invited others as well without her knowledge. He had smiled quite a bit more than she saw him do around others on the ship, and yet when she thought about it, he treated her differently than he did other members of the crew as well.

He was always coming into Astrometrics for reasons that were usually vague and when she had told him she didn't have a status report finished at the time he usually shrugged and told her not to worry about it.

She decided to "play it safe" another phrase running through her mind curtsey of Lieutenant Paris. She walked to the holodeck with each step making her feel lighter headed than before. As she reached the doors of the holodeck something in her chest leapt and she caught her breath with a soft sigh.

When the doors opened she walked in and was in complete shock. A beautiful tall waterfall, much more magnificent than the one she had seen with the Ventu, surrounded by a mountain range that was completely elegant even though it was a bit daunting to look at because of it's size and then she saw it, the glowing orb with all it's glory shining and she gasped in surprise at it. He hadn't...

"Omega.." she said in a quiet whisper with awe.

"Perfection, right?" he grinned from ear to ear at her reaction. He was pleased she was so impressed with his replica, tilting his head slightly he looked into her eyes which were still fixed on the orb. "Pretty convincing huh?" he asked gently. She looked up at him suddenly taken out of her trance. "Why did you recreate Omega?" she inquired looking like a curious little girl with some measure of disbelief in her tone which was rare for Seven.

Chakotay looked at her seriously, "Because I thought you would like it." She couldn't understand why but she felt instantly overcome with an emotion she didn't quite understand. A single tear fell from her eye as she looked at him. "Thank you."

He felt so happy that she liked it and at the same time he felt his heart melt that she had a tear in her eye and before thinking about it he took her in his arms and held her. He was pleased yet surprised when she almost instantly hugged him back and it felt so natural holding her in his arms.

After what seemed like a few seconds to them but was actually a few minutes they let go reluctantly hoping the other one didn't feel awkward When they both looked to each other for reassurance that the other wasn't uncomfortable they both smiled and a small laugh came out from Chakotay who broke the silence.

"Well, I wouldn't mind doing that again sometime" he teased lightly with a grin that was adorable to her. There was something in the way he looked at her when he said it that she thought sounded almost sensual? She blushed profusely and couldn't help but look down to try and hide her reaction from him.

"You look beautiful when you're embarrassed, of course you look beautiful all time" he said gently as he took her hand hoping to soothe her embarrassment enough to where she'd look at him again. It worked she looked up at him in almost as much disbelief as when she found out he'd re created Omega for her.

"How could I?" she blurted out in honest curiosity

He was in shock, how could she think she wasn't beautiful? Every man on this ship would jump at the chance to go on a date with her. "How could anyone not think you're beautiful Seven?" he added honestly, "I know I always have." He felt awful that she didn't know how breathtaking she was, especially to himself.

She looked confused and a little saddened. "But I have.." she looked away sadly and unconsciously touched the implants on her hand. He noticed this and understood almost immediately what she meant.

He touched her cheek lightly her face turning again to his. "Seven, you're implants don't bother me, or anyone on this ship, and they could never take away from how beautiful you are." As he looked into her eyes she saw how they were honest and sad for her at the same time. She knew he meant what he said to her.

She couldn't help but feel like she had to tell him why they bothered her so much. "They, … separate me from everyone else... when I see them I'm reminded of everything I've done, I've hurt so many people. I've done more damage than anyone else on this ship. How can you have feelings for me?" she blurted out almost unintentionally

He held her took her hands in his and looked at her. With a solemn tone in his voice, "Seven, everyone on this ship is different. Do you think I don't stand out in a crowd because of my tattoo? But I'm proud of it because it reminds me of my father. You're implants don't have to remind you of all the things the Borg _made_ you do. You were forced to do those things, it was out of your control. You were just a scared little girl who got taken advantage of. Your implants should remind you of what you've lived through, and how that little girl fought back and got away from the Borg, she escaped them Seven, not many others can say that. I've done awful things in my lifetime too, but everyone makes mistakes, at least yours weren't really your choice. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." He looked at her hoping with everything he could that she took his words to heart.

She gave him a small smile and in spite of herself she felt like a weight had lifted off of her. He had made her feel better with just a few words than she had felt since before she could remember. "Thank you, I suppose I can be rather critical of my own experiences." she flushed slightly realizing that he had just repeated told her how beautiful he found her and had made this entire recreation just for her.

He grinned and took her hand walking with her into the forest. "I designed a cottage not too far from here where I thought we could have dinner." he looked to her for approval.

She smiled teasingly, mirroring his earlier demeanor "So you're taking me into the woods to a private house to spend time alone with me?"

He grinned but now he was blushing at how it sounded. "Well, I suppose that's true. Maybe I just wanted perfection all to myself." he said teasingly. They both smiled at each other as they went on with their date.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the show nor it's characters.

It had been two days since their first date and Chakotay was the happiest he'd ever been. He walked into Astrometrics to find Seven working as usual. She whipped her head around at the sound of his footsteps entering the room.

"Are you here for my status report?" she asked knowing full well if did collect a status report that was not the reason he was visiting her. He walked up to her with a grin on his face. "Yes, I'd like a full report on your plans for this evening." he teased.

She blushed and looked down before meeting his gaze with her own playfully flirtatious grin "Well I had planned on playing kotis kot with Naomi Wild man, but if you have an assignment for me I'm sure I can postpone my plans."she couldn't help but feel proud that she had learned how to flirt with him very easily, though she knew that dating his holographic self had helped her a great deal.

He was surprised at how playful Seven was and how comfortable she seemed to be talking to him. It seemed so natural to close to her, so right. "As a matter of fact I do," he tried to look mockingly serious as he took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I need your expertise again on the holodeck, this time it's a theater simulation that's malfunctioning." he smiled with a twinkle in his eyes knowing she already knew what he was up to.

"I will assist you." she said with a matter of fact tone that she always used, but added,"what time?" in a more wistful tone than she generally used. He grinned at hearing her change of voice, she sounded almost shy when she sounded like that. "0800 hours?" he asked hopefully.

She gave him a small smile, "I'll be there" she she gave a small nod and he wanted to hold her like he had on the first date they'd had, in fact he thought about it every time he had alone to himself.

Somehow it seemed unnatural to not be that close with her and he wished he could have that again. Maybe to tonight he would get another chance if the time was right. He knew he should take it slow with Seven, she'd been through so much and he didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. He had already told himself he would let her make those decisions, he would let her initiate things and that way he wouldn't have to feel like he was going to fast for her.

She felt completely lightheaded and couldn't keep from smiling as she walked to the bridge. The Captain had requested her assistance with the sensor array. Seven was all but unaware that as she walked onto the bridge she had a smile on her face that grew as she saw Chakotay and she'd blushed slightly. Chakotay looked at her with obvious adoration but everyone was too busy looking at Seven to notice Chakotay's reaction.

The Captain looked somewhat amused, but obviously very curious at Seven's contented expression. "Seems you're in a good mood today.." she said with a huge smile of her own. She was excited that her protege was in such a good mood and had never seen Seven look so genuinely happy before. When she said this Seven immediately was drawn out of her daze and blinked it away. "I am well, Captain" she said with a nod trying to hold back how excited she was to see Chakotay who was still grinning at her.

The event was not missed by Tom Paris, who had already walked over to Harry Kim's post. "Wow, did you see that?" he asked his best friend in absolute shock and disbelief.

No one had ever actually seen Seven smile, save the Doctor who caught her once but no one else knew about that.

Harry smiled as he looked from Seven to Tom and put his hand on his shoulder, "Well, it's like I always said, there's a woman in there." he said proud of himself for calling that one. He also felt proud of Seven for coming so far and having gone through so much. He had once had a crush on her but it had since dissipated and he considered her to be one of his close friends.

Tom had to admit, this was the most human side of Seven he'd ever seen. He knew she was a good person and that he even considered her a close friend, though he wasn't sure how Seven felt about any of them. He knew B'Elanna had her tiffs with Seven, but he could tell deep down in spite of herself, she liked Seven and wanted to be her friend.

They were a lot alike in some ways, a bit more than either of them would admit, both stubborn, both reserved and both were very strong willed with a pinch of arrogance at times. In any case, he knew B'Elanna would think that Seven smiling so openly and on the bridge no less was just plain strange. This would definitely be the talk around the mess hall at dinner tonight.

A few hours later it was time for their second date. The scene was set, a dimly lit movie theater and a full array of chairs just like it had been when Tom had put on one of his many "B movies" except that this time he and Seven would have it all to themselves.

Chakotay had picked a movie that had been one of his grandfather's favorites that was very old, from the early 21st century. It was called "The Notebook". He thought it would be the perfect romantic movie for their date.

When she came in he couldn't help but tease her. "I think you're the talk of the ship tonight, everyone noticed your smile" he teased her gently as she sat down next to him. She blushed as the movie began and their attention focused on it.

Throughout the movie he would look to her for her reaction, and she seemed to really enjoy the movie, even crying at certain parts of it while almost laughing at others. Before he knew it the movie was over and he was walking her back to the cargo bay wishing that their date wasn't over. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked hoping she was as excited about it as he was.

She returned his smile, "I'd like that." It caught him by surprise when she put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek softly, their faces lingered close to each other for a few seconds before Seven pulled away.

As they parted he wanted to kiss her, but he knew that he should wait and let her decide when they would kiss. He sensed there was something holding her back, and he wanted to respect her feelings.


	7. Chapter 6

Note: This is set after the picnic between Chakotay and Seven, but before their dinner date in his quarters.. I thought it needed some tweaking... ;)

The Voyager bridge was quiet, almost too quiet as Chakotay sat in his chair trying to fight sleep. He was exhausted after filling out all the crew assignments, examining all of the crew reports and his shift on the bridge which was finally about to end.

"Harry, you have the bridge" he nodded to the young Ensign who returned his nod with a smile. He took the turbo lift to his quarters and felt completely miserable. It had been a long and uneventful day. Just as he got to his quarters and the doors opened he saw her sitting at his table, she prepared an elegant dinner for him and there were candles in the center as well. He was excited to see her and taken aback and all of the effort she must have put into it all.

"Seven, " he was taken aback by how she was dressed, he couldn't believe his eyes. She was smiling and looked radiant in her crimson red dress that hugged her skin, her hair was down in soft curls. He couldn't believe he was having dinner with the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. "You look amazing, you're always beautiful, but I think having your hair down suits you, .. and that dress, well definitely suits me.." he said teasingly. He walked to her took her hand in his giving it a soft kiss. "Honey, you've really outdone yourself again, you need to be careful, I think I'm getting spoiled." he teased softly.

She laughed softly, the laugh that intoxicated him every time he heard it. "I'm glad you like it." she said looking down for a brief moment, he could tell she was trying not to be shy or embarrassed. She wasn't used to this kind of interaction with anyone. He was about to sit down when he felt her take his arm, he turned to face her and she pulled him into a passionate kiss. His mind reeled, he couldn't believe it! This was by far one of the best days he'd ever had. When they reluctantly pulled apart for air, she looked at him timidly as if she was afraid of his reaction. He touched her cheek softly and pulled her into another kiss.

Just then their comm badges went off. "All senior officers, we are having a meeting" They looked at each other breathlessly their faces still touching, "Next time, I'm deactivating the comm system" he told her seriously. She smiled in agreement.

They left his quarters together and he kept his arm around her waist. She looked at him nervously. "Are you sure we shouldn't try to appear more,.. professional?" she asked him uncertainty. He knew her worry, she didn't want anyone teasing him about her or for the Captain to chastise him for having a relationship with a crew member. But he wasn't afraid of anything, he was proud to be with her. He gave her a loving smile. "It'll be fine honey, there's nothing to worry about."

He felt completely elated when she leaned into him more after he said this. He knew he'd eased her discomfort at least enough for her to trust it would be alright. People stared at them as they walked down the corridors and whispers that were almost inaudible where coming from all over the ship. As the doors opened to the conference room everyone stopped what they were talking about and just stared at them in shock.

Tuvok clearly taken aback, well, for Tuvok anyway. Tom and B'Elanna's mouths dropped to the floor (metaphorically of course) and Harry's eyes looked like a night owl trying to see in the light of day. Neelix was beaming from ear to ear (he already knew about the lovely couple) and then there was the Captain who looked confused and curious. "Hello, Chakotay, ..Seven" she nodded at them each separately still trying to take it all in. They sat down next to each other at the large table joining their friends who looked at them still awaiting some kind of explanation.

Finally Tom broke the silence, "So, since when did you two become an item?" he said excitedly and extremely curious like he always was. They all looked at them for an answer, clearly on the edge of their seats, especially the Captain.

Chakotay looked at Seven lovingly and they smiled at each other, then he looked to the rest of them. "That, is irrelevant." he grinned in mock indignation, he looked to Seven who laughed lightly and made whole room even more shocked than they already were. "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before Seven, and I know irrelevant isn't Chakotay's favorite word. You guys are too cute together though." Tom smiled giving his blessing even though he knew they didn't need it. Chakotay knew he was being a supportive friend.

Seven smiled at him with a blush in her cheeks and nodded at him, "Thank you, Lieutenant." Chakotay nodded at Tom glad for the vote of confidence. The Captain looked at the two of them still in shock with a smile on her face, "Well, I must admit she nodded her head I've never seen either of you this happy before, I don't know how it happened, but I'm happy for you both." She looked at them both happily. Chakotay smiled back at her, "Thank you Captain" they both said in a unison heartfelt tone, she was one of their closest friends each respectively.

The doctor watched the whole affair with a quiet and obviously devastated demeanor, but no one really noticed because they were all enamored with the new love birds announcement. He was somewhat glad they didn't notice as he slipped out of the room, he had been humiliated enough in the past few months as it was and didn't want any further torment added to it.


End file.
